Liars - Mess (Mute, 2014)

Liars
Mess
Mute
2014

Rating: 6.5 northern humanity out of 10

I don't even know what the fuck you would call Liars anymore - industrial electronica?  Techno noise rock?  Just weird?  Whatever it is, I am totally on the fence about it in recorded form, though live it works really really well. 

Part of the problem with "Mess" is it starts off on a bad foot - opener "Mask Maker" is the worst song on the record, but it does get better.  By the middle of the album a dancefloor banger in "Pro Anti Anti," followed by the very Brian Eno-like "Can't Hear Well" and then another strong jammer in "Mess on a Mission."  The album is probably worth it for these three songs alone, but the whole thing is pretty good - if you're in the mood for it.  And you skip that first song.   

Liars - WIXIW (Mute, 2012)

Liars
WIXIW
Mute
2012

Rating: 7 terminal cancers out of 10

Somehow Liars have transformed into a completely different band and I don't hate them for it.  This is usually not the case.  They've seemingly aboned their harsh, confrontational sound and replaced it with laid-back "darkwave" techno something-or-another.  I have no idea what the hell "darkwave" is, it just seems like a word that would describe what Liars are doing...like a music score for a film about a creepy serial killer. I guess what I'm getting at is despite a shift in instrumentation, the vibe and lyrics of their songs are still taking the same, ominous course.  To be perfectly honest, this sort of music is usually doesn't shine my turtle shell, but I'm guessing my history with this band has kept me just interested enough to get hooked. 

As a side note, I can attest that despite a move towards more keyboard and electronics and away from the typical band arrangements, a recent viewing of their live show proves they will still completely rock your ass off. 

M83 - Midnight City EP (Mute, 2011)

M83

Midnight City EP

Mute

2011

Rating: 4 stale caramels out of 10

As much as I hate to speak ill of one of my favorite bands going today, this releases by M83 is pretty...meh.  The song itself, "Midnight City", the first single off of their newest record, is fantastic, and that's what kicks this EP off.  The remaining four tracks are all remixes, none of which I particularly like.  The first one, by Big Black Delta, took a cheesy eighties horn riff and murdered the song with it throughout.  The next two are by Trentemoller and Man Without Country, and are completely forgettable.  The final remix is by Team Ghost, and while the best of the four, still isn't much...and makes me feel like I'm in a cough syrup-induced haze.  Just buy the full length record, which is amazing, and save this EP for the OCD completists. 

M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming (Mute, 2011)

M83

Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

Mute

2011

Rating: 8 bright flashes out of 10

Probably my worst reviewing misstep of all time was my review of the M83 album "Before the Dawn Heals Us".  My initial impression was that of mediocre electronic music, only to come back to the record a few weeks later and have it become one of my very favorite releases of the last ten years.  I'd like to say this taught me something about making rash judgements about music, but all it really taught me is to love M83.  

This new record - it's no "Before the Dawn Heals Us".  I'm not even sure it's on par with "Saturdays = Youth".  But it's still one of the best records of the year, that's how strongly I feel about the work of Anthony Gonzalez.  This double album seems to continue down the same path of "Saturdays = Youth" - electronic-tinged, overblown shoegaze pop for the most part.  It's a lot of music to ingest in one sitting, 22 songs and a little under an hour and a half long, but can there ever be too much of a good thing?  Well, yes there can be...but not here. There can never be too much M83. 

M83 - Saturdays = Youth (Mute, 2008)

M83
Saturdays = Youth
Mute
2008

Rating: 8.5 berets out of 10

So I now equate France with three things: giant metal towers, tasty cheese, and M83. But the man behind the plan, Anthony Gonzalez, ain't no French stereotype, and this ain't your father's Serge Gainsbourg. His previous album, “Before the Dawn Heals Us”, is one of the very best records released this century as far as I'm concerned...and this follow-up ain't no slouch either.

This record is damn near perfect, a mix of electronica and 80's nostalgia that somehow manages to sound like the soundtrack to a John Hughes film but still completely new and fresh at the same time. And like previous M83 releases, it works the best when listened to through headphones – you really pick up on all the little nuances and layering that Gonzalez puts into his songs that might go missed listened to out loud on your stereo. Like all of his albums, it's a grower...the more you listen, the more it seeps into your head and the more you want to hear it. I keep waiting for Gonzalez to slip up and make a stinker, because this type of electronic-rock music walks a razor edge between cheesy and choice, but so far the dude is batting 1.000.

M83 - Before the Dawn Heals Us (Mute, 2005)

M83
Before the Dawn Heals Us
Mute
2005

Rating: 10 paella filled crepes out of 10

(Note: I'm leaving the below review completely intact as it's the most wrong I've ever been in reviewing a record. This album is one of my favorites of the last 20 years, as the rating above suggests. Sometimes, you're just wrong.)

It’s been two albums now and I still don’t know what to think of M83. It’s one of things where it has to catch your ear just right…sometimes it sounds awesome, other times, overwrought and cheesy. But this pretty well sums up my feelings on synth-rock as a whole. I’m at a loss as to how to describe what they sound like; I try to imagine it as rock music that Boards of Canada or Matmos or Air would make. Maybe it’s the cover photo, but something about this very much feels like it would be the soundtrack to a Michael Mann film. Certainly, if you liked the last record I don’t see anything here that should turn you off this go-around. Maybe by the time the next record comes out I’ll be able to figure out if I actually like this or not, but right now I’m just confused.

Liars - They Threw Us in a Trench an Threw a Monument on Top (Gern Blandsten / Mute, 2001)

Liars
They Threw Us in a Trench an Threw a Monument on Top
Gern Blandsten / Mute
2001

Rating: 8 headstones out of 10

Ladies and gentlemen, this is dance-punk. Liars, fronted by lanky Aussie Angus Andrew, have created a dancy-arty-punky mess that’s a real joy to listen to. I never dance, yet I can somehow imagine shaking it at least a little bit to these guys live. Their sound comes out akin to both early eighties punk geniuses Gang of Four and current indie darlings Les Savy Fav, but, well, dancier. Not dancy in a techno sort of way, but more in the sense where the bass line and drums are the most prominent instruments in the mix, driving the songs and holding them together while everything else goes this way and that way, doing whatever it pleases. When you add all of the constituent parts together it creates one hell of a treat to listen to.